COVID-19 report | Eight deaths, one more hospitalization

Quebec reported on Monday a very slight increase in hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 in its health network, while eight additional deaths and 1,305 new infections were also reported.

Henri Ouellette-Vezina
The Press

These eight new deaths bring the daily average calculated over seven days to 25. The trend is up 17% over a period of one week.

On Monday, there was a very slight increase in hospitalization linked to the virus in regular care, which stems from 128 new hospital admissions, and 127 discharges. To date, 2,345 patients remain hospitalized, 86 of whom are still in intensive care, a decrease of four cases in 24 hours in this regard (six entries, ten exits).

For the time being, the 2,345 people hospitalized represent an increase of 6% over one week. In intensive care, the 86 patients represent a decrease of 10% over one week. The number of people hospitalized seems to be stabilizing, with the number of admissions rapidly decreasing.

Approximately 42% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients (954 people) were admitted with the coronavirus. Conversely, 58% of patients were hospitalized for another reason but tested positive for COVID-19. In intensive care, 72% of patients are admitted due to COVID-19, and 28% for another reason.

Quebec also reports 1,305 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the daily average to 2,086. The trend is thus down 21% over one week.

These numbers likely reflect only a portion of total infections due to limited access to PCR testing. On Saturday, Public Health nevertheless carried out 13,559 screening tests, a relatively stable figure compared to the weekly average.

Moreover, the proportion of PCR screening tests proving positive for COVID-19 remains very high, at 12.5%. In addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 2,819 people also reported over the weekend having tested positive on a rapid test. Self-reported cases, which are not included in daily reported cases, are down 13% over the past week.

So far, nearly 194,270 rapid tests have been self-reported on the website of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), of which more than 158,550 have presented a positive result for COVID-19.

On the vaccination side, the Quebec campaign is once again idling. On Sunday, around 8,700 more doses were administered. Since the start of the pandemic, the province has still administered more than 19.6 million doses, including Quebecers vaccinated outside Quebec.

With Pierre-André Normandin